Application Software and System Software

Dr. Asha Dagar

Assistant Professor
UDBAS, MGM University
The term “application software” refers to software that performs
specific functions for a user. user interacts directly with a piece of
software, it is called application software.

Purpose of application software is to assist the user in doing

specified tasks. Microsoft Word and Excel, as well as popular web
browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome, are examples of
application software.

Mobile apps, which includes apps like WhatsApp for

communication and games like Candy Crush Saga.
There are also app versions of popular services, such as weather or
transportation information,

Apps that allow users to connect with businesses. Global Positioning

System (GPS), Graphics, multimedia, presentation software, desktop
publishing software,
 Function of application software:
• Information and data management
• Management of documents (document exchange systems)
• Development of visuals and video
• Emails, text messaging, audio and video conferencing, and
cooperation are all options.
• Management of accounting, finance, and payroll
• Management of resources (ERP and CRM systems)
• Management of a project
• Management of business processes
• Software for education (LMS and e-learning systems)
• Software for healthcare applications
 Need of application software:
• Helps the user in completing specified tasks
They help the end-user with specialized tasks in a
variety of industries, including education, business,
and entertainment. Microsoft Word, for example, is
popular application software that allows users to
create, edit, delete, and do other tasks with word
documents.

• Allows users to effectively organize information

 Manages and manipulates data
Business companies utilize application software to manage and
manipulate employees, customers, and other databases. Enterprise
resource management systems and customer relationship
management systems are two common examples of application
software.

Allows users to
effectively organize information
Individual users can use application software to efficiently
create and handle large amounts of data. Microsoft Excel, for
example, is popular application software that allows users to
manage datasheets.
 Types of application software:
Freeware
It is offered for free, as the name implies. You can utilize
freeware application software that you can obtain from the
Internet. This software, on the other hand, does not allow
you to change it or charge a fee for sharing it. Examples
include Adobe PDF, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.
 Shareware

This is given away to users for free as a trial, usually with

a limited-time offer. If consumers want to keep using this
application software, they will have to pay. WinZip, Anti-
virus, and Adobe Reader are instances of shareware.
 Open-source
This type of application software comes with the source
code, allowing you to edit and even add features to it. These
could be offered for free or for a fee. Open-source application
software includes Moodle and Apache Web Server.
 Closed source
This category includes the majority of the application
software programs used nowadays. These are normally
charged, and the source code is usually protected by
intellectual property rights or patents. It usually comes
with a set of restrictions. Microsoft Windows, Adobe
Flash Player, WinRAR, macOS, and other operating
systems are examples.
Advantages of Application Software

• It meets the client’s particular requirements. The

client recognizes that they must use one explicit
programming to complete the task because it is
planned explicitly for one reason.
• Businesses that are associated with particular
applications can restrict access and consider ways to
monitor their operations.
• With the logic of health, standard updates from
engineers for Licensed application programming can
be obtained.
 Disadvantages of Application Software:

• Developing application software to achieve certain

goals can be quite expensive for developers. This can
have an impact on their financial plan and income
stream, especially if an excessive amount of time is
spent on a product that is not generally worthy.
• Application software that is frequently used by many
of us and then published on the internet poses a
genuine risk of infection by a bug or other malicious
projects.
System Software
 System Software
Software is a set of instructions, which is designed to
perform a defined task, and it tells the computer how to
work. System software is a set of computer programs that
is designed to manage system resources.
It is a collection of such files and utility programs that are
responsible for running and smooth functioning of your
computer system with other hardware.
The best-known example of system software is
the operating system (OS).It responsible for manages all
the other programs on a computer.
 System Software is the most important type of software
required to administer the resources of the computer
system.
 System software runs and functions internally with
application software and hardware. Moreover, it works
as a linking interface between a hardware device and the
end-user.
 System software runs in the background and manages
all functioning of the computer itself. It is called Low-
Level Software.
 we install the operating system on our device, it gets
automatically installed on the same device.
 System software helps to generate the user interface and
allows the operating system to interact with the
computer hardware.
Features of System
• It is very difficult to design system
Software
software.
• System software is responsible to
directly connect the computer with
hardware that enables the computer to
run.
• Difficulties in manipulation.
• It is smaller in size.
• System Software is difficult to
understand.
• It is usually written in a low-level
language.
• It must be as efficient as possible for the
smooth functioning of the computer
system.
• Operating System
• Programming Language Translators
• Device Drivers
• Firmware Software
• Utility Software
 Operating System

 An Operating System is the most basic type of System Software that helps

to manage computer hardware and software. It is the central part of any

computer system which is responsible for the smooth functioning of any

computer device.

 An Operating system primarily operates your computer when you start it.

If you haven't installed the operating system on your computer, then you

will not be able to start your computer. Some most common examples of

OS are macOS, Linux, Android and Microsoft Windows

 An OS helps to control and make records of already executed programs

in your computer, such as application programs and other system software.

 Programming Language Translators

Programming translators are the software that converts

high-level language into machine language.
A computer can only understand the machine language
or binary bits pattern, either 0 or 1. A CPU understands
this machine language that is not easy to understand by
a normal human. Hence, First, the end-user interacts
with the computer in a high-level language like Java,
Python, C, PHP, and C++, etc., then the translator
converts these languages into machine code.
 Here are some tasks performed by
programming language translators:

• Translators provide diagnostic reports whenever

the code rules don't meet the criteria.
• It helps to create a list of the program's source
code and its detail.
• It helps to allocate the data.
• Translators help to detect syntax errors which help
developers to make necessary changes easily.
• Examples of computer program translators
are compiler, interpreters, and assemblers.
 Device Drivers

Device Drivers are the types of system software

that reduce the troubleshooting issues in your
system. The operating system communicates
with hardware components internally. This
communication can easily be managed and
controlled with the help of device drivers.
• The operating system contains a number of device drivers to
drive the hardware components.
• Most of the device drivers, such as a mouse, keyboards, etc.,
are already installed in the computer system by the computer
manufacturing companies. However, in case of any new device
for the operating system, users can install them through the
internet also. Here are some devices that require drivers to
perform the smooth functions of any computer system:
• Keyboards
• Mouse
• Printers
• Function keys
• Network card
• Display card
• Touchpad
• Sound, etc
 Firmware Software
• These are the operational software installed on the computer
motherboards that help the operating system to identify the
Flash, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, and memory chips.
• However, the primary function of any firmware software is
to manage and control all activities of individual devices.
Initially, it uses non-volatile chips for installation purposes,
but later it gets installed on the flash chips.
There are two main types of chips:
• BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) chip.
• UEFI (Unified Extended Firmware Interface) chips.
 Utility Software

Utility software works as an interface between

system software and application software. Utility
software is a third-party tool designed to reduce
maintenance issues and detect errors in the
computer system. It comes with the operating
system in your computer system.
It helps to perform the antivirus and security
software to maintain the security of the data in a
computer.
Here are some specific features of utility software:
 It helps users to protect against threats and viruses.
 It helps to reduce disk size such as WinRAR, WinZip.
 It works as a Windows Disk Management service and
helps in a disk partition.
 It facilitates users to back up the old data and enhance the
security of the system.
 It works as a de-fragmentation of a disk to organize the
scattered files on the drive.
 It helps to recover the lost data.